Parents of Parkland Students Launch Donate17 — Here’s How You Can Become a Member and Help Fight Back

February 14, 2018. It is a day that many in this nation will never forget, and a day that changed the lives of dozens of families in South Florida. Seventeen children and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida were murdered that day. While the media and most politicians appear to have moved on to other things, the students and their parents continue to fight for common sense gun legislation, and the banning of certain gun modifications such as bump stocks and high capacity magazines.

The March for Our Lives movement has really opened the eyes of many Americans, and as the students continue to tour the country, helping to register new voters, while also speaking out about what can and should be done to prevent a tragedy like the this one from happening again, the parents of these children remain at home. The children involved with March for Our Lives prefer it that way, and rightfully so, but the parents, of course, wish to do all that they can as well.

“FAMSVARPAC.org is comprised of Stoneman Douglas parents, March For Our Lives parents, and other area parents who share our concerns,” Jeff Kasky, the father of Stoneman Douglas student and one of the founders of March for our Lives, Cameron Kasky, told HillReporter.com.

“Our mission is very simple: We’re demanding the assault rifles be reclassified into the NFA of 1934, thus making them very difficult to buy/sell/own,” Kasky added. “Further, we advocate for an outright ban on bump stocks & high capacity magazines. (The possibility exists that we will advocate for fresh legislation, as opposed to inclusion in the NFA, depending on what happens in the midterms.)”

Kasky, who just launched Donate17.org, is a volunteer for FAMSVARPAC, a political action committee where all employees work voluntarily without a salary. His goal, he tells us, is to get enough signups (those donating $17 or more) to eclipse the NRA’s alleged member base of 6 million people, and to use the money to help fund candidates willing to fight for commonsense gun legislation.

“Most importantly, we need sign-ups so we can claim comparable numbers to the NRA, which has a 147-year jump on us insofar as membership is concerned,” Kasky told us, before making it very clear that this group completely respects our Constitution and the 2nd Amendment.

“Our group is NOT anti-2nd Amendment. Personally, I think it’s poorly-written and wouldn’t mind an opportunity to revisit its meaning and purpose, but the PAC isn’t going there,” Kasky explained. “FOUR federal courts have determined that assault weapons are NOT covered by the 2A, so nothing we’re doing can be said to be taking anyone’s rights away. Further, we aren’t advocating the confiscation of anyone’s weapons, just a registration with the ATF of already-existing assault weapons, and very strict rules for ownership going forward. The kid who shot up Cam & Holden’s [his two son’s] school was a very mentally-ill 19 year old who went down the street and legally purchased an AR-15-style rifle. As Cameron has said, if there was any kind of mental health requirement, they’d have given him a straight jacket, not a weapon of war!”